if you've been looking for a way to enter japanese text on your android phone, the market's got a couple of options for you. i go with Simeji, which i guess, since cyrket's been down for a while and hasn't shown any signs of mystically reappearing, you can find over at androlib, but the manual seems to only be in japanese. now, assuming that you know enough to enter japanese text into your /cell phone/ you could probably translate it yourself, but since i like to translate stuff anyway, and i have far too much down time at work, i did it for you! yay! you'll have to download the app yourself to get the pictures, but i've got you covered on text. if you have any questions about the translation, please leave them in the comments. thanks~

Simeji version 3.B.1

* Attention

If Simeji continually force closes, please uninstall Simeji and reinstall it. If there is no improvement, the developer would appreciate your contacting him at (note: whatever email he puts there. i'm not going to put it here in case he changes it, and also to attempt to prevent spam).

* Things to do Before You use Simeji

* How to Register Simeji as an IME

Open System Settings -> Locale & Text. (note: these are the American G1 settings, i don't know if they're different for other English settings, or different phones)

[screencap]

In this screen, select Simeji under Text Settings.

[screencap]

Simeji now becomes available as an IME. In the next section, we will switch the IME to Simeji.

* How to Switch Your IME to Simeji

Open an application, such as the browser, and tap and hold any text area.

[screencap]

For example tap and hold the text area.

[text box] (note: this IME works for things other than strictly "text boxes," such as notepad apps etc)

A dialogue box will appear, where you can switch input methods. (note: you may have to select "Input Methods" from a box that pops up when you tap and hold, and then you'll get a list of available IMEs.)

[screencap]

Please select Simeji from the list of available IMEs that is displayed.

[screencap]

Simeji is now registered as an IME. When you tap on a text area, Simeji's software keyboard appears, and you can input Japanese.

* About the Hardware Keyboard

With the hardware keyboard, you can access Simeji's functions with the associated keys, listed below:

shortcut --- function

shift + space --- switch input (note: this switches from english character to japanese character input)

shift + enter --- mushroom

shift + 7 (search) --- convert to katakana

shift + menu --- settings

* About Simeji's settings

When you tap and hold the [文字] (note: /moji/ or "character") key at the bottom left of the Simeji software keyboard, you can open Simeji's settings.

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